Court Will Not Hear Parental Relocation Case Appeal Piecemeal

Tennessee child custody case summary on relocation in divorce.

Christopher Conrad Fichtel v. Jill Crowell Vichtel

The mother and father in this Davidson County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2010.  Under the parenting plan, the

Mother was named the primary residential parent of their two minor children, with joint decision making authority.

In 2013, the mother sent a certified letter to the father stating that she intended to relocate to Columbus, Ohio, with the children to live with her future husband.  The father filed a petition in opposition to the move, and the case was heard by Judge Philip E. Smith.  Both parents also asked the court to make various modifications to the parenting plan.

Judge Smith conducted a hearing, and found that the parents had exercised substantially equal parenting time.  He found that it was in the children’s best interest to remain in Nashville.  The other issues, however, were not ruled on, since the judge stated that more information was needed.  Ultimately, both parties appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, raising issues including the relocation.

Before the Court of Appeals considered the parties’ arguments, it had to first determine whether it had jurisdiction over the case.  The court noted that even if the parties do not raise the issue, the court has subject matter jurisdiction in only certain cases, and must determine whether it did in this case.

The court noted that, subject to limited exceptions, it had jurisdiction only over final judgments, and that when a trial court’s order does not adjudicate all issues, then it is not a final judgment.

It examined the record and determined that the order in this case was not a final judgment.  While the relocation issue was decided, a number of issues regarding the parenting plan had not been resolved.

Since no ruling had been made on a number of important issues, such as change of custody, the appeals court concluded that this was not a final judgment, and that it was inappropriate to hear the appeal.

For these reasons, the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal without prejudice and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.  The costs of the appeal were assessed equally upon both parties.

No. M2017-00409-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 13, 2018).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Tennessee Parent Relocation Statute Law.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.